Scottish Executive

Asbestos

Mr David Davidson (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many people are affected by asbestos-related illness and what the annual cost is to the NHS of treating such illnesses, broken down by NHS board area.

Malcolm Chisholm: There are number of illnesses which are specific to asbestos such as mesothelioma, pleural plaque with presence of asbestos and pneumoconiosis due to asbestosis. Asbestos exposure will contribute to a number of other conditions including lung cancer but may not be explicitly identified as an underlying cause because it is not always possible to determine the influence of asbestos exposure to an individual’s condition.

  An estimate of the prevalence of these illnesses can be derived from hospital in-patient and day case discharges using "probability matching" to link the individual hospital records for each patient, as shown in the table below. However, these figures are likely to be an undercount of total prevalence of asbestos-related illnesses. The annual cost of treating these illnesses is not available centrally.

  Prevalence1 of Asbestos Specific Related Illnesses2, 2002 by NHS Board of Residence

  

 NHS Board Area 
  of Residence
 Prevalence


 Scotland
 593


 Argyll and Clyde
 92


 Ayrshire and Arran
 23


 Borders
 8


 Dumfries and Galloway
 10


 Fife
 82


 Forth Valley
 28


 Grampian
 47


 Greater Glasgow
 151


 Highland
 17


 Lanarkshire
 38


 Lothian
 65


 Tayside
 29


 Island Boards
 3



  Source: SMR01 Linked Database.

  Notes:

  1. Prevalence is based on individuals who are alive in 2002 and have been admitted to hospital during the period 1997-02 with an asbestos related condition.

  2. Asbestos specific-related illnesses included in the table are: mesothelioma, pleural plaque with presence of asbestos and pneumoconiosis due to asbestosis. However, the International classification of disease code used to identify pneumoconiosis due to asbestosis includes pneumoconiosis due to other mineral fibres.

Dentistry

Richard Lochhead (North East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many, and what percentage of, students graduating from dental schools left Scotland for their first post in each of the last three years.

Mr Tom McCabe: The most up-to-date data on the first destination of dentistry graduates from Scottish Higher Education institutes (categorised into Scotland, Rest of the UK, Rest of the World, and Unknown First Destination) is correct to 2001-02. This is collected by the Enterprise, Transport And Lifelong Learning Department.

  The following table provides the data for the three most recent years for which data is available.

  First Destination of Dentistry Graduates from Scottish HEIs from 1999-2000 to 2001-02

  

 
 2001-02
 2000-01
 1999-2000


 All Graduates
 Number
 Percentage
 Number
 Percentage
 Number
 Percentage


 Total
 137
 100%
 124
 100%
 142
 100%


 Scotland
 94
 69%
 90
 73%
 87
 61%


 Rest of the UK1
 18
 12%
 9
 6%
 26
 17%


 Rest of the World
 *
 1%
 *
 1%
 *
 1%


 Unknown First Destination
 25
 18%
 25
 20%
 29
 20%



  Note:

  1. The number of graduates with first destination rest of the UK and rest of the world have been combined to protect confidentiality.

Dentistry

Richard Lochhead (North East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many general dental practitioners will reach retirement age in each of the next three years, expressed also as a percentage of all practitioners.

Mr Tom McCabe: The information requested is provided in the following table.

  Number And Percentage of Principal NHS General Dental Practitioners (Gdps) Currently Working in The General Dental Service Who Will Be Aged 701 During the Year to 16 February

  

 Year
 Number
 Percentage 
  of all principal GDPs2


 2005
 0
 -


 2006
 2
 0.1


 2007
 0
 -



  Notes:

  1. Current retirement age for principal dentists working in the NHS general dental service.

  2. Based on the number of active principal GDPs at 16 February 2004.

Dentistry

Richard Lochhead (North East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many patients registered with a local dentist in each of the last three years, broken down by NHS board area, expressed also as a percentage of the population in each area and showing year-on-year percentage changes.

Mr Tom McCabe: The information requested for those patients registered with a dentist under NHS general dental services is provided in the tables below. No information is collected on the number of patients registered with a dentist under private arrangements.

  Patients Registered with an NHS General Dental Practitioner at 31 March

  2001

  

 Health board area
 Number of patients registered
 Percentage of population 
  registered1
 Percentage change from 
  March 2000


 Ayrshire & Arran
 209,790
 57.0
 1.0


 Borders
 63,837
 60.1
 -0.6


 Argyll & Clyde
 223,838
 53.1
 0.0


 Fife
 187,961
 54.0
 -0.6


 Greater Glasgow
 492,653
 57.1
 2.1


 Highland
 94,453
 45.2
 -4.7


 Lanarkshire
 271,200
 49.1
 0.6


 Grampian
 270,347
 51.3
 -3.3


 Orkney
 8,289
 43.0
 -3.1


 Lothian
 418,870
 54.0
 0.7


 Tayside
 232,600
 59.5
 -0.3


 Forth Valley
 146,433
 52.4
 0.1


 Western Isles
 12,024
 45.0
 -0.5


 Dumfries & Galloway
 72,712
 49.2
 -1.6


 Shetland
 7,470
 33.7
 0.2


 Scotland
 2,712,477
 53.6
 -0.1



  2002

  

 Health board area
 Number of patients registered
 Percentage of population 
  registered2
 Percentage change from 
  March 2001


 Ayrshire & Arran
 209,566
 56.9
 -0.1


 Borders
 63,942
 59.8
 -0.3


 Argyll & Clyde
 222,842
 53.0
 -0.1


 Fife
 188,936
 54.0
 0.1


 Greater Glasgow
 491,800
 56.6
 -0.5


 Highland
 85,924
 41.1
 -4.1


 Lanarkshire
 271,588
 49.1
 0.0


 Grampian
 260,435
 49.5
 -1.7


 Orkney
 7,951
 41.4
 -1.6


 Lothian
 421,809
 54.1
 0.2


 Tayside
 232,063
 59.7
 0.2


 Forth Valley
 148,630
 53.2
 0.7


 Western Isles
 11,352
 42.9
 -2.1


 Dumfries & Galloway
 70,485
 47.7
 -1.5


 Shetland
 7,025
 32.0
 -1.7


 Scotland
 2,694,348
 53.2
 -0.4



  2003

  

 Health board area
 Number of patients registered
 Percentage of population 
  registered3
 Percentage change from 
  March 2002


 Ayrshire & Arran
 207,627
 56.6
 -0.3


 Borders
 63,340
 59.0
 -0.8


 Argyll & Clyde
 221,855
 53.0
 0.0


 Fife
 190,419
 54.3
 0.3


 Greater Glasgow
 490,471
 56.6
 0.0


 Highland
 84,706
 40.7
 -0.4


 Lanarkshire
 275,723
 49.9
 0.8


 Grampian
 245,229
 46.9
 -2.7


 Orkney
 6,214
 32.3
 -9.0


 Lothian
 427,230
 54.8
 0.7


 Tayside
 230,300
 59.4
 -0.2


 Forth Valley
 151,211
 54.1
 1.0


 Western Isles
 11,446
 43.7
 0.8


 Dumfries & Galloway
 69,604
 47.3
 -0.4


 Shetland
 9,412
 42.9
 10.9


 Scotland
 2,684,787
 53.1
 -0.1



  Sources: NHS General Dental Service registration data - MIDAS (Management Information & Dental Accounting System).

  Population data - GRO(S).

  Notes:

  1. Mid-year 2000 population data.

  2. Mid-year 2001 population data.

  3. Mid-year 2002 population data.

Electricity

Alex Johnstone (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive when a decision will be taken on the section 36 application under the Electricity Act 1989 for the Shieldaig/Slattadale hydro scheme.

Lewis Macdonald: The consultation period for this application has ended. Ministers are considering the application and a decision is expected in the near future.

Further and Higher Education

Mr Jamie Stone (Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will give details of any changes to student support for further and higher education students that will apply for the academic year 2004-05.

Mr Jim Wallace: I am delighted to announce the new rates of support for students in further and higher education for academic year 2004-05. I am today placing in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre details of the rates of those loans, bursaries and grants, which will be available to eligible undergraduate and postgraduate students in full-time higher education.

  A general uprating factor of 2.4%, in line with inflation, will be applied to the existing schemes of support in 2004-05, thus maintaining their value in real terms. We are also increasing by the same factor the standard rates of tuition fee payments made to institutions on behalf of eligible students by the Student Awards Agency for Scotland.

  This increase is consistent with that announced by the Secretary of State for Education and Skills on 3 December 2003 for English and Welsh domiciled students.

  The Scottish Further Education Funding Council (SFEFC) has also agreed to maintain the alignment between the further and higher education sectors by, where appropriate, uprating the support available to further education students by 2.4%. A copy of these rates is also being placed in SPICe.

  In addition to these new rates, the Review of Funding for Learners has produced a number of outcomes which will be implemented in 2004-05. These are:

  amending previous study rules so that students progressing from a HND course have access to funding from the 2nd year of a degree whether or not they have successfully completed a HND;

  allowing Ordinary graduates the funding to subsequently do an Honours year;

  allowing the Advanced Diploma students funding to do an Honours year;

  removing the link between eligibility for student loan and supplementary grants (thereby removing the constraint on receiving grants for learners aged 55 and over);

  commuting the HE Hardship Loan into the existing scheme of Hardship Funds;

  commuting the FE Young Students Retention Fund into the existing scheme of FE Hardship Funds

  abolishing the Two Homes Grant in HE and the Two Homes Allowance in FE

  Another of the Review’s Immediate Action Points will be to confirm the removal of Dependents Grant and the School Meals Grant in HE and the Dependents Allowance in FE. The coverage of these grants has been overtaken by the Inland Revenue’s Tax Credit System.

General Practitioners

Carolyn Leckie (Central Scotland) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether a ratio of one GP to a population of 115,000 for the provision of home visits is appropriate.

Malcolm Chisholm: NHS boards must have alternative arrangements in place by December 2004 which must meet mandatory accreditation standards to ensure a safe, quality service. Under such alternative arrangements anyone who needs access to primary medical services will get it, whether it be telephone advice, a home visit or seen at a GP surgery or primary care emergency centre.

  A national out-of-hours working group is established to assist boards. This group is comprised of key stakeholders from across the service and includes members from NHS24, the Scottish Ambulance Service and patient representatives. In addition, three key senior appointments have been made to the pay modernisation team of NHS Scotland to focus on the new models of out-of-hours care across Scotland.

General Practitioners

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how often recommendations made by interviewing committees in respect of filling a vacancy for a single GP practice have been (a) rejected or (b) referred back for further consideration, in each of the last five years.

Malcolm Chisholm: When more than one application for a general practice vacancy is received the National Health Service (General Medical Services) (Scotland) Regulations 1995 require a NHS board to select the application which it wishes to be considered by the Scottish Medical Practices Committee. The establishment of a committee to interview candidates on behalf of a board is a matter for the board itself and information on the number of cases where the recommendation of such a committee is rejected or the matter is referred back for further consideration is not available centrally.

General Practitioners

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what account should be taken of patient objections to a particular applicant for a vacancy for a single GP practice by (a) it, (b) the interviewing committee and (c) the Scottish Medical Practices Committee.

Malcolm Chisholm: The National Health Service (General Medical Services) (Scotland) Regulations 1995 do not provide for objections by patients to any applicant for a general practice vacancy.

Housing

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether a national analysis of the need for, and construction of, affordable housing is being carried out.

Ms Margaret Curran: As part of current work on affordable housing, the Executive is undertaking analyses at national level of future requirements for affordable housing.

Housing

Roseanna Cunningham (Perth) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what its most recent estimate is of the number of private houses in multiple occupation (HMOs), broken down into (a) traditional and bedsit HMOs, (b) shared houses and flats, (c) households with lodgers and (d) HMO buildings converted into flats.

Ms Margaret Curran: The Scottish Executive does not have comprehensive information on the different types of private houses in multiple occupation.

  The Executive is providing £1 million in this and each of the next two financial years to help local authorities improve their HMO licensing systems and ensure that all existing HMOs are licensed. As part of the process of setting objectives for the use of this funding, each authority was asked to estimate the number of licensable HMOs in their area. The total of these estimates was 18,312. However, this should only be taken as a rough indication of numbers, as the robustness of the estimate for each local authority area depends on the level of identification activity carried out to date. It will also include all those HMOs owned by public bodies and social landlords. Effective identification of all HMOs in the local authority area is the first objective for the additional funding.

  The annual number of HMO licences in force, broken down into various categories, is published in the Scottish Executive Statistical Bulletin Housing Trends in Scotland for the last quarter of each year, which is available in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre. Buildings converted into flats are not considered HMOs, provided each flat is self-contained and has its own kitchen and bathroom.

Justice

Mr Ted Brocklebank (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many people have been prosecuted in each local authority area for selling lighter fluid to under age children in each of the last five years.

Mr Ted Brocklebank (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many people in each local authority area have been convicted of selling lighter fluid to under age children in each of the last five years.

Hugh Henry: Information at the level of detail requested is not held centrally.

Justice

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what guidelines or protocols the police have for dealing with incidents of male rape.

Hugh Henry: Procedures in relation to the investigation of serious sexual offences are contained within individual force policies. These local procedures are to be augmented by detailed guidance on sexual assault which the Justice Department is currently developing with the police service and the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service.

Justice

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what action is being taken to provide access to support services for victims of male rape.

Hugh Henry: Male victims of sexual violence can access support through a number of avenues. The Executive funds Victim Support Scotland to provide information, advice and support to all victims of crime. It also provides funding to voluntary organisations which specialise in support for victims of sexual abuse, such as Men Against Sexual Abuse and the Moira Anderson Foundation. More generally, the NHS 24 Breathing Space telephone advice line is aimed at young men who are experiencing difficulties, whatever these might be.

  A pilot project in Glasgow will soon look at how the immediate response to female and male survivors of sexual violence could be improved.

Learning Disabilities

Shona Robison (Dundee East) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what level of funding (a) has been and (b) will be invested in the implementation of (i) the recommendations of The Same as You? A review of services for people with learning disabilities and (ii) the Mental Health (Care and Treatment) (Scotland) Act 2003.

Mr Tom McCabe: The Learning Disability Change Funds provided to local authorities specifically for the implementation of The Same As You? were £8 million in 2001-02, £12 million in 2002-03, and £16 million in 2003-04 continuing at that level thereafter. We are also providing £1.5 million over five years for the Scottish Consortium for Learning Disability.

  NHS boards and local authorities will deliver implementation of the Mental Health (Care and Treatment) (Scotland) Act 2003 primarily from their mainstream allocations.

  However, local authorities have received additional revenue funding of £1.2 million in 2003-04 with £12.5 million available in 2004-05 and £13 million in 2005-06 continuing at that level thereafter. £2 million capital funds have also been announced for both 2004-05 and 2005-06. NHS boards have also received towards £1 million Partnership Agreement resources this year with a further £6 million and £8 million announced for 2004-05 and 2005-06 respectively.

Ministerial Correspondence

Bruce Crawford (Mid Scotland and Fife) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive when the Minister for Health and Community Care will reply to the letter from my constituent Mr John Winton of 30 November 2003 regarding his treatment, and specifically any lack of beds, at Edinburgh Royal Infirmary.

Malcolm Chisholm: Mr Winton’s letter of 30 November was addressed to the Chief Executive of Lothian University Hospitals Trust, and copied to me for information. I understand that the Division has now written to Mr Winton, addressing his concerns.

  Mr Winton has since written direct to me on related matters. A reply will be issued shortly.

Ministerial Meetings

David McLetchie (Edinburgh Pentlands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-3405 by Mr Andy Kerr on 7 November 2003, where each joint ministerial committee meeting took place; which ministers attended, and what issues were discussed.

Mr Andy Kerr: The following table provides a complete list of Scottish Executive Ministerial attendance at all JMC meetings that have taken place since 7 October 1999:

  Paragraph A1.11 of the Memorandum of Understanding and Supplementary Agreements between the UK Government and the Devolved Administrations describes the remit and structure of the Joint Ministerial Committee. It provides that "the proceedings of each meeting of the JMC will be regarded as confidential by the participants, in order to permit free and candid discussion", and therefore the issues discussed at each meeting are not disclosed.

  Joint Ministerial Committee - Meetings Since 1999

  

 Subject
 Date
 Venue
 Scottish Minister


 Plenary
 1 September 2000
 Edinburgh
 First Minister and Deputy First Minister


 Plenary
 30 October 2001
 Cardiff
 First Minister and Deputy First Minister


 Plenary
 22 October 2002
 London
 First Minister and Deputy First Minister


 Europe
 1 March 2001
 London
 Minister for Education, Europe and External 
  Affairs and Deputy Minister for Education, Europe and External 
  Affairs 


 Europe
 8 November 2001
 London
 No Scottish Minister was able to participate


 Europe
 7 March 2002
 London
 Deputy First Minister


 Europe
 11 June 2002
 London
 Deputy First Minister


 Europe
 27 September 2002
 London
 First Minister 


 Europe
 22 October 2002
 London
 First Minister & Deputy First Minister


 Europe
 30 January 2003
 London
 Deputy Minister for Education and Young 
  People


 Europe
 6 October 2003
 London
 Minister for Finance and Public Services


 Europe
 1 December 2003
 London
 First Minister


 Europe
 15 January 2004
 London
 Minister for Health and Community Care


 Europe
 3 February 2004
 London
 Minister for Health and Community Care


 Europe
 24 February 2004
 London
 No Scottish Executive Minister was able 
  to participate. Anne McGuire, MP, Parliamentary Under Secretary 
  of State for Scotland represented Scotland’s interests.


 Health
 7 April 2000
 Cardiff
 First Minister and Minister for Health 
  and Community Care


 Health
 5 June 2000
 London
 Deputy First Minister and Minister for 
  Health and Community Care


 Health
 16 June 2000
 Glasgow
 Deputy First Minister and Minister for 
  Health and Community Care


 Health
 26 October 2000
 Belfast
 Minister for Health and Community 
  Care


 Knowledge Economy
 11 February 2000
 Edinburgh
 First Minister and Deputy Minister 
  for Enterprise and Lifelong Learning


 Knowledge Economy
 26 May 2000
 Edinburgh
 Deputy First Minister and Minister 
  for Enterprise and Lifelong Learning


 Poverty
 9 December 1999
 London
 Minister for Children and Education and 
  Deputy Minister for Communities


 Poverty 
 26 May 2000
 Edinburgh
 Deputy First Minister and Minister for 
  Communities


 Poverty
 18 September 2002
 London
 Minister for Finance and Public Services 
  and Minister for Social Justice

NHS Equipment

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what steps will be taken to ensure that NHS boards assign responsibility to an executive board member to help ensure that medical equipment is available to deliver care in line with national strategies and clinical practice, as referred to in recommendation 1 of Audit Scotland's report, Better Equipped to Care? - Follow-up report on managing medical equipment .

Malcolm Chisholm: I refer the member to the answer given to question S2W-6519 on 11 March 2004. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search .

Occupational Therapy

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what performance targets have been set in respect of the provision of assessments by occupational therapists.

Malcolm Chisholm: No national performance targets have been set for assessments by occupational therapists. However, from 2004-05, we will be collecting information on the numbers of assessments by lead assessor and the time between referral and first service delivery.

Organ Donation

John Farquhar Munro (Ross, Skye and Inverness West) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what the annual cadaveric organ donation rate per million of population was for each of the last 10 years for which records are available.

Malcolm Chisholm: The information is provided in the table.

  

 Year
 Scotland


 1994
 16.8


 1995
 16.0


 1996
 13.2


 1997
 12.6


 1998
 12.8


 1999
 14.8


 2000
 12.3


 2001
 12.8


 2002
 11.5


 2003
 9.1



  Source: UK Transplant.

Organ Donation

John Farquhar Munro (Ross, Skye and Inverness West) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how many people were registered on the NHS donation register at the end of each of the last 10 years for which records are available.

Malcolm Chisholm: The information is set out in the table.

  

 Year
 Scotland (millions)


 1994*
 0.02


 1995
 0.16


 1996
 0.29


 1997
 0.35


 1998
 0.46


 1999**
 0.61


 2000
 0.76


 2001
 0.88


 2002
 1.03


 2003
 1.18



  Source: UK Transplant.

  Notes:

  *The Organ Donor Register was launched in October 1994.

  **estimated, as there was a shift to a new database in 1999 and an associated "clean-up".

Organ Donation

John Farquhar Munro (Ross, Skye and Inverness West) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has prepared estimates of the annual cadaveric organ donation per million of population required to address the current demand for donor organs.

Malcolm Chisholm: It is extremely difficult to make such an estimate, because of the variety of factors affecting both the supply and demand for each type of organ.

  Organs for transplantation are shared across the UK on the basis of arrangements supervised by UK Transplant (UKT). We contribute to the funding of UKT, whose business plan for 2004-05 sets out specific aims in terms of increasing the number of patients who might benefit from a transplant in the coming financial year.

Physiotherapy

Dr Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it is taking to address any shortage of physiotherapists.

Malcolm Chisholm: The Executive recognises the important contribution that allied health professionals (AHPs), including physiotherapists, make to the wellbeing of patients throughout Scotland.

  In partnership with NHSScotland, the Executive is supporting enhanced access to physiotherapy through a number of initiatives tackling recruitment and retention issues set out in the AHP strategy Future Directions. New figures published on 25 February by ISD show an increase in allied health professionals including physiotherapists, where numbers increased by 13.8% between September 2002 and September 2003. These demonstrate good progress in meeting the Partnership Agreement commitment to ensure a total of 1,500 extra AHPs.

Social Work

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what research data is available to identify difficulties surrounding the retention of social workers by local authorities.

Euan Robson: The information referred to is given in a report Career Pathways in Scottish Social Services , a copy of which has been placed in the Parliament’s Reference Centre (Bib. number 31353).

Suicide

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has in respect of the prevention of suicide of NHS patients.

Malcolm Chisholm: Recommendations on suicide prevention, detailed in Safety First: Five Year Report of the National Confidential Inquiry into Suicide and Homicide by People with Mental Illness, were issued to Health Boards in July 2001. NHS boards are expected to continue to work within the framework of these recommendations, whilst also taking account of the framework provided in Choose Life , the National Strategy and Action Plan to Prevent Suicide in Scotland (published December 2002).

Teacher Training

Fiona Hyslop (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether additional academic staff are being recruited for the purpose of training teachers as part of the expansion of initial teacher training announced in its press release SEed539/2004 on 23 February 2004.

Mr Jim Wallace: This information is not held centrally. Staff recruitment is a matter for individual higher education institutions.

Training

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what contribution it will make in (a) the current financial year and (b) each of the next three financial years to the funding of the Sector Skills Development Agency.

Lewis Macdonald: The Sector Skills Development Agency is presently core-funded to operate across the UK by the Department for Education and Skills.

Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body

Holyrood Project

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body whether all payments made to the architects engaged on the Holyrood project have been properly paid and whether any sum has been paid in advance of legal entitlement to payment.

Mr George Reid: : The Convener of the Holyrood Progress Group is confident that all payments to the architects have been properly made and successive audits of the project would support this. I understand that a part payment was made to the architects in November 1998 in advance of all Stage C work being fully completed. The reasons for this are given in evidence to the Fraser Inquiry from the architectural advisor to the SPCB on 3 February 2004.